


Raising the Spiderling

by Iamthehobbit



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Iron Dad, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Tony is a dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-29
Updated: 2018-06-25
Packaged: 2019-05-15 05:35:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14784483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamthehobbit/pseuds/Iamthehobbit
Summary: Tony never wanted to be a father. Stark's didn't have a good track record with fathers.That all changed when a tiny baby was pushed into his arms.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> I know that everyone and their dog has written this kind of fic, but I absolutely love the idea. So what's one more? This fic will follow Tony as he becomes a dad and his son turns into a superhero.

Tony hadn’t had a great childhood. 

His dad was pretty absent in his life, but when he was present, it was never pleasant. Tony was constantly being criticized for what he did and it seemed that anything he did was never good enough. It didn’t matter that Tony got into MIT at fucking age 15, it didn’t matter that he was at the top of his class. Tony never felt he was good enough for his dad.  
So he morphed into a sarcastic, narcissistic genius and vowed he would never be a father. 

Until that fateful night in October 2001. 

Tony sat in his basement, working on one of his cars. He was fiddling with some wires, when JARVIS interrupted him. 

“Sir, it would appear as someone is waiting at the door.” Tony sighed, and turned away from his project. 

“Pull up video feed?” JARVIS pulled up the live feed outside of Tony’s front door. Two men in suits were patiently standing on his front porch. One was holding- what was that? “JARVIS, zoom in what righty is holding, would you?” JARVIS zoomed into the carrier that he was holding to reveal-

“Jesus. Let them know I’ll be up in sec.”

“Of course, Sir.”

Tony ran up the stairs. The men were comfortably sitting in the living area. 

“Can I help you gentlemen?” Tony decided that being polite would probably be the best considering the cargo they were carrying.

“Good evening, Mr. Stark. This is Director Fury and I’m Agent Coulson.” Tony paused.

“Director of what, exactly?”

“Of S.H.E.I.L.D., Mr. Stark. I assume you already know what that is.” Tony flinched as Fury interrupted. Of course they had to be a part of SHIELD. 

“I have the unfortunate pleasure of knowing, yes. But last time I checked you weren’t a nanny service.” Tony gestured to the baby carrier. Inside, a baby was sleeping, cuddling into his blanket.

“Yeah, well, it was a special circumstance.” Fury looked at the kid, giving a little chuckle. “This Peter Benjamin Parker. His mother recently died in a car crash. Her will said that if she were to die, that he would go to only other living relative.” Fury looked at Tony. 

“And you thought that was me…?” Fury snorted at him. 

“Kid, according to the DNA test we conducted, you are for sure the father.” Fury was straight to the point. Tony looked closer at the sleeping baby. He was pretty cute. The other man, the agent, cleared his throat. He kept looking at the baby that was supposedly his son. 

“We have all his records in this file, including the DNA test. His-“

“How did you get my DNA, anyway? Last time I checked I didn’t consent to that.”

“You’d be surprised at the resources we have, Stark.” Tony snorted. “Anyway, as I was saying, we have all his belongings in this duffel.” 

“Hold on, I haven’t even agreed to this. I’m not… father material.” Tony didn’t even remember hooking up with someone with the name Parker. Why on earth does that mean he’s ready for parenthood? Just because he and the kid shared DNA? He looked at the sleeping baby. 

“It’s either this or take him to an adoption agency, which is the normal protocol.” Peter gave a tiny yawn. He blinked sleepily. Warm brown eyes bore into Tony’s identical ones. Would the kid have a better childhood if he was put into the system? Maybe. He was a cutie, he’d probably find a family fast. 

But what if they weren’t a good family? What if Peter grew up with a dad like Howard? But, what if Tony ended up like his old man? He looked at the baby once more. The baby was watching him. He sighed. 

“Okay, I’ll take the kiddo. Where do I sign?” Coulson smiled, handing him the custody papers. Tony took the papers, signing his name in the designated places. The agents thanked Tony, and left. The man and the baby were now alone. 

“Well, Peter Benjamin Stark, I guess it’s the two of us now.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tony struggles through the first night.

The first night wasn’t…great, to say the least. 

He had no idea what he was doing. Should he call Pepper? She usually helped him, and she seemed like she would be good in a domestic situation like this. But how would he tell her? He shouldn’t tell her over the phone, right? That’s not how you tell someone you had a kid. “Jarvis, send Pep a message to come over in the morning.” There. He could tell her in person. Hopefully that wouldn’t freak her out too much. 

Tony looked at the baby in the carrier and sighed.

“Well, I can’t leave you in there, can I? Wait, or should I? Jarvis, what happens if a baby is in a car seat for an extended period of time?”

“Research shows that if an infant is in a car seat for too long, it may lead to Hypoxia, which a restricted airway, preventing oxygen to his developing organs. It could also cause PLAGIOCEPHACY, most commonly known as Flat Head Syndrome.”

“Damn, who knew something made for babies could be so bad for babies?” Tony muttered. He crouched down to the baby, gently unbuckling him from the seat. “Okay, no problem. I’ve created AI’s and some of the most advance tech in world. I can do this.” Tony reached to grab the baby by the armpits, and then stopped. How did he take the baby out…? 

“…Jarvis?”

“Support his neck and back, creating a scooping motion, sir.” He nodded, gingerly scooping up the baby, and then gently transferring the baby to the crook of his arm. Peter was nodding off to sleep, cuddling into his father’s warmth. 

It was the first time Tony had held his son. His son. He was a dad. Tony began to gently bounce his arms, rocking Peter in (what he hoped) was a soothing motion. Tony smiled softly at the bundle in his arms. He felt a warm, peaceful feeling overcome him as he watched the kid sleep in his arms. He had never felt anything like it before. Peter shifted in his sleep, and began to wiggle. 

“Shh, daddy’s got you, daddy’s here.” Tony blinked hard, trying to stop the watering of his eyes as he watched his baby son sleep.  
If only the rest of the night was so peaceful. 

Tony had heard from other adults how babies often had awful sleeping patterns, but he never understood until that night.   
The two were sleeping on Tony’s bed, with Tony gently guarding the baby so he didn’t fall off. He had just began to fall asleep when Peter decided to scream.   
Tony jumped up, waking up fully. For a half second, Tony completely forgot that the baby was even there. He quickly picked up Peter, using the scooping motion Jarvis told him about, and gently tried to rock him back asleep. 

Except it wasn’t working. 

“Why won’t you stop crying?” Tony desperately whispered to the sobbing baby. 

“Babies need formula about every 3 hours. Peter needs a bottle and perhaps a diaper change.” Jarvis immediately answered. Tony nodded. 

Gently holding Peter to the best of his ability, Tony fiddled through the duffel bag the agents had left him. He fished out a diaper, wipes, a bottle, and a container that said ‘Formula’ on the side. Deciding the diaper was more important, he gently put Peter down on the carpet. He got the fresh diaper ready, and then gingerly began to change Peter. 

“Unnggg. Gross, Kid. No wonder you were crying.” Tony wrinkled his nose, and began to clean his baby up. Once satisfied, he lay peter down on the fresh diaper. Thankfully he was able to figure out which side was the back (it really was a smart idea labeling it, honestly).

“Okay, nice and clean. Huh, buddy? That better?” Tony tickled Peter’s belly, making the baby give him a little grin. “Alright, I guess a bottle, right? You hungry?” Tony was surprised how easy it was to baby talk. He always thought it was idiotic how adults downgraded in intelligence when they were around a cute baby, but now, well. He kinda understood it now. 

Tony picked up Peter and headed over to the kitchen. He picked up the formula box and studied the instructions. It wasn’t too hard- fill the water up to the line, add a certain amount scoops of the formula. The only problem was that Tony was one handed at the moment. 

“Okay, I think that’s enough water…okay. Now, one scoop… two...Damnit.” Peter had wiggled, causing Tony drop the powder over the counter. Tony looked at the kid, who was obviously trying to escape his arms. “That was a little rude, kid.” Tony sighed. “Okay, one more time. One, two…” After what felt like ages, Tony successfully had the appropriate amount of formula in the bottle. 

He was going to ignore all the powder and water that was left on the counter for now. 

Tony screwed on the lid, shook the bottle to mix it, and headed back to the bedroom. 

“Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleeeep. Please, Pete.” Despite eating and being in Tony’s arms, Peter was still staring wide eyed at his father. How did people get their kids to go to sleep? He leaned his head against the headboard. How had his mother done it?  
_  
“Time for bed, darling.” Maria kissed Tony’s forehead.   
“But mom-” Maria raised an eyebrow at her son. Little Tony giggled.   
“It’s time for sleep.” Maria ran her hand through Tony’s hair, humming a familiar tune.   
_  
Tony looked at his kid. “You know, I have an awful singing voice. It’s terrible. Do you really want me to…okay. Okay!” Peter had begun to cry. Tony didn’t even think, he just did.   
He had begun to gently rock Peter to sleep, singing softly. “…Try to remember the kind of September…” Slowly, Peter began to fall asleep. Tony didn’t move. He didn’t dare, worried that if he moved that Peter would wake up. He watched as the baby slowly breathed in, and out. His eyelashes were fluttering. Tony didn’t know how long he just watched him sleep. He didn’t even know when he had fallen asleep. 

Tony could feel a slight tickling on his beard. He reached to swat it away, blinking the sleep from his eyes. Little Peter was grabbing at Tony’s facial hair. Memories of last night flashed in Tony’s eyes. 

“Hey buddy,” he chuckled, gently getting out of bed. “Jarvis? What time is it?”

“7:02, sir.” Jarvis immediately responded. Tony wrinkled his nose. He typically didn’t wake up this early. His normal routine was to go to bed 3 or 4 in morning, and maybe wake up before noon. Did babies always wake up this early? Tony glanced at the kid – his kid. 

“Okay, kiddo. How about some breakfast?” Tony gently tickled his belly, causing him to giggle. “Jarvis, what can babies eat?”

“At Peter’s age, he can eat pureed fruits and vegetables, with a bottle every few hours.” 

“Okay, okay. Well, I don’t have any baby food right now – Jarvis, put that on the grocery list, please- but I think I have…aha!” Tony had found a banana on the counter. It was turning slightly brown at some places, but it was still good. Tony quickly peeled the fruit, and plopped it in the blender. After a few minutes, the tender fruit became a nasty mush. Wrinkling his nose, Tony carefully scooped the mush and put it in a bowl. 

“Alright, kiddo, let’s eat, huh?” Tony balanced Pete on his knee, gently supporting his neck and back. 

Tony immediately decided that feeding kids was a pain. He and Peter were both equally covered in smashed banana. 

“Sir, Miss Potts is here.” 

“What?” Tony wasn’t prepared. He had completely forgotten he had asked Pepper to come over this morning. He hadn’t even thought of what to tell her.   
He could hear the soft click of her heels. 

“Tony? Tony, why did you ask-“Pepper stopped, taking in the scene before her. Tony couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going through her head right now. 

“I can explain!” Pepper’s eyebrows rose, clearly stating that he’d better explain, and it’d better be a damn good story.   
_  
After cleaning up, Tony began to explain what had transpired the night before. Pepper was completely still, not revealing any emotion.   
“…and now I’m a dad, I guess.” 

“Tony…” She whispered. She looked at the new dads face. She had never seen her boss so terrified and vulnerable. She glanced at the little baby in his arms, who had begun to drift asleep. “Are you sure it’s the right thing to keep him? You have no idea what you are doing.” She watched as Tony’s eyes bulged, almost panicked. 

“I know I only known this kid for what? 15 hours? But… Pep, I already love him. He’s my son. I’m not giving him up.” She bit her lip. She still wasn’t crazy about him raising the little boy, but what could she do? He obviously already cared a great deal for him. 

“Okay, then. I guess I need to set up a press conference, then? Announcing that you are a dad?” Tony shook his head. 

“I don’t… I don’t think we should. Pep, I grew up in media. I was constantly in the lime light. That was my childhood. And I didn’t… have a great one. I want Pete to have the best one I can offer.” Tony rarely talked to anyone about his childhood. Even Rhodey had a very limited knowledge on Tony’s early years. 

“So, keep him a secret?”

“No, just…concealed. People that will care for Peter will know. But I don’t think that the public needs to know until he’s older.” Pepper nodded. 

“How did Obadiah and James take it?” 

“…I haven’t told them yet.”  
_  
Pepper had asked both Rhodey and Obadiah to come over to dinner, where Tony would tell them about his son. 

He got mixed reactions. 

Rhodey, his best pal, was supportive. Of course he had the same concerns Pepper did, but once he saw how much Tony cared for Peter, he gave his full support. He enjoyed seeing his best friend act like a dad. 

Obadiah, on the other hand.

“What the hell were you thinking, Stark? You are running a multi-billion dollar company! You can’t just decide you want to play fucking Mommy!”

“This isn’t about the company, Obie. This is about me and my son. I didn’t call you over to give me business advice, I invited you over so you could be part of my family!” Something flickered in Obadiah’s eyes. Whether it was compassion or something else, Tony had no idea. But at least the shouting had stopped. 

“You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry.” Tony nodded. It wasn’t clear yet if his pseudo father was accepting just to end the fight, or if he genuinely cared. Obadiah was close to his father, who was never really a family man. He probably had the same idea- that they slowed down your work. Tony glanced at his son, who was in Rhodey’s arms.

Tony vowed then and there that Peter would never feel like he was a burden. He would never allow his son to feel the way he did as a kid. Maybe he had no idea what he was doing, but he would try his best to be a good father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for all of the support! I'm so excited about this fic! 
> 
> I will try to post every week, but I do work full time, and I'm currently in college, so bear with me if the updates are slow.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kids grow up so fast. 
> 
> This chapter is a different layout than what I have been doing, and what I plan on doing. But in order to tell the story the way I want/need, this chapter needs to be a little different. :-)

Despite having Peter for nearly two weeks, Tony hadn't really looked at the things the agents had given him. He had boughten his son new clothes and other nessesties, So he never really felt the need to go through it. But as he put Peter to bed in his new crib one night, he paused as he looked at the beat up duffel bag he had shoved in the corner. What would be the harm in looking through it? 

The first few items were just some clothing and a few baby toys. Nothing seems particulary interesting, in Tony's opinion. He honestly had no idea what had compelled him to go through the bag at all. 

That is, until he reached in the pocket. 

In it contained a small scrapbook. On the cover, it was titled "Baby's Firsts". Tony flipped to the first page. It looked like a book that had areas to place pictures and write little notes throughout the baby's first year. 

Tony wasn't a sentimental person. Maybe it was a product of being raised by his father, or perhaps because he was a man of science, but he didn't really consider himself "Touchy feely". But you wouldn't know based on Tony's reaction to the book. 

There were pictures of Peter for each month, showing how much he had grown. Tony smilied as he looked at the picture of his son when he was only a few days old. He thought Peter was small now! This section only had four pictures, since Peter was still only four months old. 

There were pictures with captions like, "First smile!" or "Rolling over for the first time!". A lot of the book was blank, since Peter was still young and had a lot of firsts to tackle.

Tony paused as he reached towards the back of the book. He had just been skimming to see what other things could be added to the book. But he stopped short when he saw the title of the page. 

"Letters from Mommy and Daddy!" 

Of course, the "Daddy" letter was empty, but messy, smudged writing was on the mother's side.

‘Dear Peter,  
I love you so much. I’m proud to be your mother. Even though you are only a few days old, I can tell you will do great things.  
Never forgot that I love you.’

Tony stopped reading. It felt… invasive. Maybe it shouldn’t be; he was Peter’s dad after all. But, he never really knew Mary. Reading her declaration of love for her little boy made him regret that. He should’ve taken the time to get to know her rather than just sleep with her and run. 

At least he could give Peter the life his mother wanted for him.  
_________  
“Is it just me or is Peter more…cry-ey than normal?” Tony sighed as his son sobbed in his arms. Rhodey laughed.

“Don’t babies start getting teeth at this age? Maybe his gums hurt.” Tony stared at his friend. 

“Babies get teeth this young? Really? And how do you know this and I don’t?”

“I read…?”

“Yeah? What? Mommy blogs?” Tony quipped. Quietly, Tony was a little embarrassed that his friend, who didn’t have any kids, knew that and he didn’t. He reached down to feel his gums. Maybe he could feel-

“Ow! Okay, yep, definitely a tooth coming in. Ow, ow, oww!” Tony pulled his finger, wincing. How on earth did a baby bite so hard?  
___________  
“Stay…” Tony had placed Peter in a sitting position on the couch. He sprinted to his designated spot. “Peter, peter! Look at daddy! Smile!” Peter looked at his dad, and gave a slobbery smile. Pepper quickly snapped a picture of the baby’s grin. 

“Lemme see,” Tony looked at the picture she had taken. Peter was looking towards the camera, giving a tiny smile. 

“You think that’s good enough?” Pepper asked, raising an eyebrow. She had taken over a hundred pictures for Peter’s 5 month old photo. Most of them were great, at least she thought so. 

“Yeah.” She glanced at Tony. His face was soft, free of his normal egotistical look. Pure love and adoration for his child radiated from him. Tony walked over to Peter and tickled his belly, causing both of them to laugh. 

Click!

That was a keeper.  
__  
“I’m not coming out.”

“Oh, c’mon, Happy! I’m sure you look great.”

“No.”

“Happy! Pep, pep, tell Happy he looks great.” Tony looked over his shoulder at his assistant and friend, who was holding Peter. 

“Come out and take the damn picture, Happy!” Pepper called. 

The door opened. Tony bit his lip to keep him from laughing. 

“See? You look-”

“Here comes Santa Claus… Here comes Santa…” Rhodey mumbled under his breath, as he fiddled with the camera. Happy glared at Rhodes as he adjusted the beard that Tony made him wear. 

“Tony, I am only doing this because you are my friend, and I love you and Peter. That’s it.” Happy sat in the decorated chair. Pepper placed Peter (who was wearing an adorable elf onesie) in “Santa’s” lap. James aimed the camera at the duo. 

“Alright, say Merry Christmas!” As soon as he snapped the picture, Peter began to wail. Happy grunted. 

“Ho, ho, ho, assholes.”  
___________  
Peter sat on a blanket as he watch Tony pack and move things around. Tony was going on a weeklong business trip, the longest one since he had gotten Peter. He had postponed and moved things around since he didn’t like leaving his son behind for long, but this trip was a long time coming. He couldn’t miss this one. 

Well, maybe he could, but Pepper would be furious at him. 

“Okay, so, this is Peter’s feeding schedule, and please, please, don’t let him miss his naps. He is a monster when he’s tired. And-“

“Tony. It’ll be okay. We can take it, right, buddy?” Pepper picked up the baby. 

“Okay, well, bye bye, bud. Don’t give your Godmother that hard of a time, okay?” Tony gave a little wave. 

Peter opened and closed his fist at dad. Tony froze. 

“Did..did he just wave?” Tony and Pepper laughed excitedly at Peter’s new achievement. Peter laughed along, having no clue about what was so funny.  
______________  
“Come to daddy, come on.” Peter was so close to walking. He had been standing for a while, but he was terrified of walking. 

“Go to your father, young Boss.” Jarvis helped encourage. But Jarvis’s voice startled Peter, causing him to fall down. Peter grabbed the coffee table, and stood up again. 

“No luck?” Rhodes had come over to watch the game originally, but as of right now it looked like he had to settle for the Peter show. Not that he was complaining, it was just funny watching his friend being a dad. 

“Nope.” Tony stood up. “Jarvis, start the game. I’m going to grab something from the kitchen; want anything? A beer?” Rhodey shook his head. 

“Nah. Thanks though.” Tony nodded and walked into the other room, leaving Peter alone with the Colonel. 

“Hey, kiddo.” Peter grinned up at his godfather, and took a tentative step. 

“Woah! Tony, Tones, Peter!” Upon hearing his son’s name, he sprinted back into the living room to find that Peter had moved a few inches. 

“Are you kidding me? Did he just walk?” Tony demanded. His best friend gave him a sheepish grin.  
__  
Tony sat in the car. In less than two hours, his closest friends would be at his house to celebrate Peter’s first birthday. 

He had something to do first. 

He slowly walked up to the marker in the cemetery. He already knew exactly where it was located, memorizing it from the other visits he made. 

“Hey, Mary.” He looked at the headstone, beautifully embossed with her name. “I guess you know why I’m here. Peter is one now. Can you believe it? He’s growing up so fast.” He looked up, watching as the clouds moved. 

“I wanted to thank you. I never… thought I would want to be a dad. But here I am. A dad. I hope I’m good enough for the squirt; I sure do love that kid.” Tony placed a simple, but pretty bouquet on the marker.

“I wish you could see him. I don’t know, maybe you can. I’ve never really thought about that.” He was quiet for a moment.

“Thank you for giving me the greatest thing I could ever have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all of your support and patience! I've been so busy with work and school, I haven't had time to update. Your kudos and comments keep me motivated! I'm so happy you guys are enjoying it!


End file.
